Martha learns a secret
by JustAWriterWannaBe
Summary: Beckett makes a critical mistake and lets Martha know a secret, unaware of how it will all turn out.
1. Chapter 1 - Well, it seemed harmless

_**Author's Notes:**_  
Thank you for reading my story, I hope you enjoy it.  
This story is a reposting of one I did on another Castle FanFic site.  
By all means, please leave me feedback/reviews on this or any of the other stories I've posted here.  
This is all a first for me and I'd like to know what's good and what needs improvement. (And what smells badly.)

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_**Story Notes:**_  
This takes place before season 5, while they were still flirting all the time.  
This **originally** was a one-shot but has turned into something more.

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_**Disclaimer:**_  
All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

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Martha padded down the stairs and into the kitchen in her stocking feet with a dish to put in the sink when she heard the rustling of papers from the living room.

"Hello?" she called out, "Richard is that you?"

A woman's arm comes up from the couch waving at her. "Hi Martha! It's just me. Sorry to surprise you." said Kate as she struggled to sit up. "I've been hiding here reading Castle's newest manuscript."

"Kaate! That's fine, I just was surprised to hear the noise."

"I have a late night stake-out tonight so I'm taking the morning off and Castle's letting me hang here while they fix the windows in my place. Everything stinks of tar and paint."

"That's wonderful, does Richard know you're reading that?" Martha asks pointing to the document.

"Yes, he gave it to me to read, why?"

"Oh.. I see... hmmmm" said Martha in a very knowing manner.

"Why do you say it like that?"

"He's never let anyone read his manuscripts except for Alexis and one other person. He doesn't even give them to Gina, he gives them to one of the people in her office."

"Really?" asks Kate, surprised.

"Kate, the only other person he's ever let do this was an old girlfriend, you might have heard of her, her name was Kira." Martha smiled, turning to continue her what she came down for and letting the gravity of the statement sink in to Kate.

"Oh."

"Yes dear, this means a lot to him. Did he hesitate when you asked to read it?"

"Ummm... No, I didn't ask. He gave it to me and asked me to read it."

Martha, surprised, abruptly turns around to face Beckett's direction "**He** asked **you, **really? My ... my ... this seems to be a serious situation you have here. He doesn't trust many people to know what's going on in his books. Looks like Cupid's target was hit squarely."

Martha, done with her kitchen tasks, and her emotional 'pot-stirring', heads for the stairs. "Kate, enjoy the book. I'll leave you to rest up for your night shift. Ta ta daaling!"

Martha climbs the stairs to her room leaving our heroine sitting awkwardly on the couch, staring at the sheaf of papers clipped together in her hand unsure of herself and only slightly realizing the depth of this relationship she's in. Smiling, partly to herself but more for the joy she feels inside. It has been a long time since she's had that feeling, the sensation of hope, love, and trust. He's still like a nine-year-old on a sugar rush but, now it seems, he's her's.

Still absorbed in the significance of the moment, Kate sits up fully and looks around her. She thinks "Here **I** am, Katherine Beckett, sitting in the home of Richard Castle, world famous mystery writer, the 'Master of The Macabre', reading his **newest** book, based on **ME**, how can this be real? Who would have imagined this? This is one of those moments I'd love to be able to pick up the phone and call my mom. 'Mom! Guess where I am?'" wiping away a small tear, she can't decide if she's happy or sad.

"How did this happen? How did I get so lucky?" she thinks. All those years of reading his books and wanting to tell him how much it meant when I was at my lowest. Although I did once get to meet him at a book signing and say 'thank you' but luckily he has no idea. Thank goodness Will Sorenson never squealed on me or I'd be sunk. It seems so long ago now, I wonder if that's Castle's influence still helping me along.

From behind her on the stairs, Martha came back "Kate, I've been meaning to ask you, did you ever read his books before you met him?" she asked innocently.

"Yes Martha. I knew who he was the first time I had to drag him out of that party to go downtown for questioning." replied Kate.

"Oh that's wonderful!" declared Martha continuing to walk to the living room "I'm glad, it makes your reading that manuscript even more significant to him."

"Really?" Kate asks.

"Oh yes. You know his voice and style, you will have much more constructive criticisms for him."

"I guess I'll have to be nice to him when I critique his work. I don't want to bruise that delicate male ego." Kate said laughing.

"Oddly enough Kate, despite his egotistical manner, not many people get through those outer shells to actually bruise that huge ego of his." offers Martha as she joins Kate in the living room "I think that's why he doesn't let anyone read the manuscripts before he submits them. Until he does that, it's still a part of him, after that, it's still his child but it is left to survive on it's own."

"Wow, that's wild. I never would have expected him to have that soft gooey spot under all that armor." marveled Kate.

Martha sits down on the end of the couch with Kate "You did a good job of controlling yourself and not being 'star struck' when you were talking to him that first time. Usually, everyone sees his ego first and not the little boy inside it. More often than not, he smiles and charms his way out of any problems he might be in, especially with women. Any time an attractive woman approaches him, he turns on the charm, says the right thing and viola, he's out of trouble and smelling like a rose. That is of course, until you showed up."

Kate, enjoying the girl-talk loosens up "Martha, you can keep a secret right?"

"Of course daaling, I'm the embodiment of discretion, have no fear." Martha assured Kate with a dramatic wave of the hand.

Kate continued "I actually had a small fan-girl moment when I knew that I'd have to question him. Yeah, I knew who he was but I wasn't going to show it during that interview. I did my damnedest to not let on and when that 'nine-year-old boy on a sugar rush' came out, it made it **much **easier for me. Don't let him know but it was his books that helped me get through the early days of my Mom's death. I even once stood in line to get his autograph." she says grinning like a school-girl "I'll tell you Martha, there's times I sit here and find it hard to believe where I am. Inside me that little fan-girl is jumping up and down squealing with delight but he's **never **going to know that."

"That's so wonderful Kate, I'm so glad for you. Quite frankly, I'm glad for the rest of us too, he's grown up quite a bit since you came into his life." Offers Martha patting Kate on the knee.

Smiling, Kate continues "Martha, I have seriously considered that maybe his involvement in my life has done more to help me not 'get over' but 'deal with' my mom's case and my own growing up than all the therapy I'd paid for. Here again, I'm **never **going to let him hear that. The ego inflation might throw the planet out of its orbit it'll get so bad."

"Wise girl Kate. He'd be his own Macy's balloon if he found out. I doubt even Alexis could bring him back to normal after that." They both had a good laugh about the idea as Martha rises to head up-stairs.

"Thanks for the chat Martha. The guy's a bottomless pit of things to learn." says Kate

"I'd like to warn you off but we all know that it's too late for that." Laughed Martha "I have a lunch date to get ready for, I'll let you get back to your drudgery, have fun!" as she heads for the stairs.

"Thanks Martha!" Kate calls after her.

Just then, Kate hears a key in the door and Alexis comes in.

"**Oh! **Hello Detective Beckett." she says cheerily, surprised to see the Detective.

"Hi Alexis! Your father is letting me hang out here while work is being done on my place." Beckett says trying to head off the obviously uncomfortable situation with Alexis "Do you think you might ever get comfortable calling me Kate?"

"Well, time will tell." says Alexis off handily, not meaning to sound cold. "I'll try but please forgive me if old habits die hard."

"Of course Alexis."

"Is Grams here still?"

"Yes, she's upstairs, getting ready for a lunch date she said. We had a good chat earlier."

"Oh." Alexis says with a touch of remorse in her voice.

"What's the matter?"

"Ummm De... Kate, do you remember how you found my dad the first time you arrested him?"

"Yea, we found him at the library."

"Yes but what **lead **you to the library?"

"Your gran... uh oh..."

"Yea, her nickname is 'Martha the snitch', you have to be careful about what you tell her."

Kate felt her face go pale as the blood drained from it. "Oh no." she said softly.

"Oh yes. It may not happen immediately but odds are, it **will **happen. Remember the poker game when she called to tell you he threw his hand? And the time he kept hiding Detective Esposito's police belt and she called him to tell him where it was each time?"

"Uh oh... I might have told her things I don't want your father to know."

"That's what would be called 'a rookie mistake' around here. The good news is, she's not evil and you **will** laugh about it one day but she doesn't seem to understand the concept of 'secret' and you should always remember that. She pauses while walking away to turn to Kate. "You should also prepare yourself for when she pulls the trigger on that, or those, secrets she is now privy to. My dad describes it as being in a speeding car on ice. You know what's going to happen but there's very little you can do to stop it, you can only sit back and enjoy the ride until you hit the snowbank and it is always going to happen sooner than you think it will."

"Thanks for the explanation and advice. Alexis."

"You're welcome Detec... Kate." Replies Alexis as she hurries up the stairs. "Grams!"

"Oh crap. What did I do to myself." She sits back on the couch knowing whatever's coming is going to be like a hurricane. She might not mind it all but some of it is going to get very uncomfortable and the timing of it all sucks. "I guess there's not much I can do. The horse is out of the proverbial barn." she thinks to herself.


	2. Chapter 2 - Later at the stake out

Later, at the stake out, Beckett, lets her mind roam to today's events and she starts to think to herself "Maybe I should tell him, before Martha ruins it on me. If I tell him, maybe he'll make me regret it less than if he finds out from Martha."

Suddenly the passenger door to the car opens and Castle appears with coffee and a paper bag in his hands "Hello there Detective Beckett! I brought you your coffee and one of those pastries you love so much."

She smiles, brightening her whole face. "Thanks Castle." He slides into the seat next to her and closes the door. "So detective, what's the story here?" He starts to drink his coffee looking out the windshield. "Well, we've had a lead that the girlfriend of a suspect we've been looking for lives in that building over there and we got a tip that he was seen in New Jersey, stole a car and was heading this way. We don't know how long until he gets here or even if he does, it's just a waiting game. I got the second shift here. There is a team in a van around the corner and me watching this approach. Here's the briefing on the case." She says handing him a sheet of paper.

"Looks like I should have brought a deck of cards along." Quips Castle, giving her that sly smile and look that makes him seem to be so mischievous.

"Well, someone with your attention span is going to have a lot of trouble sitting still for this long. I personally think it's one of the worst parts of being a cop."

"Why is that?" His tone turning serious and concerned, obviously making mental notes, while still looking out the windshield.

"Well, your job is to sit in one place, blending into the background all the while being 'ready' for action. You have to keep your cop senses and instincts sharp and active while keeping yourself calm and relaxed and awake for the entire shift. The two things are contradictory to each other. To keep your senses up and ready, it's hard to relax. Quite frankly, I find stake-outs to be more exhausting than most of the other tasks we have."

"Hmmm... That's interesting. I'm not sure that I'd ever have thought of that. I guess this rules out neckin' then eh?"

Beckett gives him one of those sideways looks and ignores the comment.

"Oh, I almost forgot, here's the key you lent me this morning. Thanks for the use of the couch for a few hours. Even early this morning, when I left my place, it **stunk **of tar and paint. I wasn't going to be able to rest there before this job."

"You're very welcome." Castle says, taking the key from her. "I'm glad to be able to help. You know you're always welcome in my home."

"His voice sounds honest and sincere, not even a touch of the usual 'Castle' double entendre in it." She thinks. "Maybe he means it."

"Of course... Naaa... that one's way too easy." He says smiling a wicked grin.

"Ah, there's the real Castle." She smiles to herself at how cute he can be.

"Yeah, thanks for not 'going there' Castle, I'd hate to have to do the paperwork after I pepper-spray you." She laughs.

"Believe it or not, I appreciate your restraint myself." He says, looking out the windshield.

"I had a nice chat with your mother too. She said not many people get to read your manuscripts. Thanks for letting me. It's really fun to see how that fun-house you call a brain works and how the stories develop."

"I hope she didn't spill more of my secrets. She's a horror to have around at times."

"Is she really that bad?" she asked, wincing inside.

"She can be. My mother is a great deal smarter than she seems at times and she's also a good actress, a combination that can be deviously noxious if she wants. She's usually good natured about it but her enemies get scorched. Her friends mostly get sore. She once blabbed to Gina, when she was no longer married to me and was just my publisher, that I hung around the house in my underwear watching horse racing instead of writing."

"Did you?" Kate asks, sure that she knows the answer.

"Well, yeah but that's not the point, Gina didn't need to know such things. Just wait until I've ticked her off and she digs out my childhood photo album for you. You'll see my skin crawling."

"Oh, now that I'd like to see!" Beckett delighted in the idea of his discomfort over such a thing.

"Yeah, I'm sure you would but I've finally convinced her to keep a lid on some things."

"That must have taken a lot of work."

"It did, part of it being that I keep reminding her that she's living there rent-free."

"You would charge her rent?"

"Heck no, that's my mother! I just don't want **her **to know that!"

Beckett smiled a little at that reply.

"Yea. About that Castle... I may have said some things to Martha I shouldn't have." Kate confesses quietly.

Snapping around to look at her squarely in the eyes with a huge grin on his face. "Really? Hot diggity! I'm going to have to ask her to spill the beans!" He was almost bouncing up and down in his seat with excitement.

"Good grief! I knew I was in trouble." She sighed. "Castle, I was being serious here. I didn't know what I was getting myself into with her!"

"Oh yeah, I'm serious too, you're in deep doodoo now."

"Castle, is there anything I can do to get myself out of this fix?" She paused. "And don't get filthy about it."

"You're going to take away all my fun aren't you." Castle sits back and, still smiling, says "Sadly, the whole thing will be out of my hands anyway. I don't think you get it, my mother likes you almost more than me. I think even Alexis would be on your side instead of mine. The odds that either one of them are going to spill your secret is extremely low. As a matter of fact, my mother would probably tell you something worse about me at the same time."

"Well, I can hope. I don't like the idea of having to sell my soul to keep you from finding out."

Grinning ear-to-ear "You really need to be more specific, 'find out' what? If you don't tell me and I find out, I may really make your life miserable."

"You mean worse than you have now?"

"Ouch! Detective Beckett, that hurts. You wound me!"

"Don't tempt me writer boy." She says smiling.

Suddenly Castle wraps his arms around Beckett and buries his face in her neck.

"Castle, what the hell are you doing!?" She protests as she begins to try and pry him off of her.

"Beckett, over there at the corner of the building you're watching is the guy from that briefing you showed me," He spoke quietly into her ear "he's in the shadows and saw us sitting here and the only thing I could think of fast enough was to make it look like we were making out. I didn't want my distracting you to lead to him discovering the cops watching for him."

"Yea, well, I guess that was good thinking." She tried to cover up the delight she felt at his being so close to her. He smelled clean but with a touch of masculine sweat. She breathed in the scent, losing herself in the moment, feeling his warmth and muscles wrapped around her. "Ahem... Castle... I ... ah ... ahem... I need to reach the radio, you need to get off me." She hoped the sound of her voice didn't betray her and let him know how much she enjoyed the closeness.

"Right. Sorry about that." As he sat back to his side of the car. He tried to look away from her to keep her from noticing the delight in his eyes that the contact brought to him. She smelled **so** good, a faint cherry smell from her hair. A beautiful clean smell had filled his nostrils. The scent fueling his imagination, uncontrollable, his dreams went places he'd dared not go intentionally. The feeling of her soft skin sending his senses reeling.

"Hey Espo, we've got our guy in sight. He's at the southeast corner of the building, he's hiding in the shadows scoping out the area." She spoke into the radio snapping Castle back into reality.

"We're ready when you are. Think we should wait until he gets inside? We can trap him in the lobby pretty easy." Came the reply.

"Interested in an idea?" Castle asked "How about I go into the building and take the elevator up to the top floor and keep the doors open? He'll wait for the elevator to come down but it won't arrive and you guys can trap him."

"It scares me when one of your ideas makes sense you know." She said "Sadly, this might be a good idea." Speaking into the radio again "Espo, Castle's going to go in and take the elevator out of the equation. As soon as the suspect goes into the building, we'll collar him."

"Roger. Waiting on your 'go' order." Crackled the radio.

"Okay boy wonder, don't do anything stupid. Or should I say, don't do anything you usually would do. You go in like any other guy going into any other building." Reaching behind her in the car "Here's a newspaper for you to read so you're not looking around when you go in. You press the elevator button, get in, and then go to the top floor. Here's the important part, **stay there until I call you to come down!** Otherwise, you might open the doors right into the middle of a standoff. We can't have that. The paperwork would be a nightmare." She instructs him.

"Hey, it's me, what could go wrong?" He says in his much too caviler manner.

"How is it that his eyes seem to sparkle when he does that to me?" she thinks.

"Remember, you screw this up and I'll shoot you."

"Oh good, I thought you might actually be getting concerned for my safety. You had me worried for a second there."

She rolls her eyes as he gets out of the car and heads for the building. "Espo, Castle's on his way." She speaks into the radio. Then, to herself out loud "Good thing they can't see how worried I really am."

"Right. Hey, we'll keep an eye on him, he'll be safe." Comes the reply from the radio, causing her to hold the radio up in front of her face and look at it quizzically worried that she was that easy to read even at a distance.

Singing lightly under his breath as he walks towards the building, looking at the paper "Oh what do you do with a drunken writer, what do you do with a drunken writer, what do you do with a drunken writer, earl-lie in the morn-ing." Flipping the paper over, continuing to walk and mumbling "How about that, hem-lines are going up." He opens the lobby door and goes in under the watchful eye of the suspect. Still reading, he presses the elevator call button. "DING" The elevator doors open and he steps in, just as the doors are almost closed the suspect jumps in with him.

"Whew, almost missed it!" The suspect says smiling.

Nervously, Castle, keeps reading his paper, trying to think of what to do. "What floor?"

"Tenth please."

Castle presses the 10th floor button and then presses the 2nd floor for himself.

"I'm not sh-ure if this is the right floor. My friend invited me o-o-o-over to watch a soccer game from England and this is my second time at the building. I wrote his number down but left it at the newsstand when I got the p-p-p-paper. I remember that the wallpaper in the hall was this green grassy lookin' stuff, looked like a schwamp." Says Castle trying to sound drunk and make small talk. "I should check them all I shu-shu-suppose." Castle says as he runs his fingers up the entire list of buttons causing the elevator to stop at each floor.

The radio crackled to life in Beckett's hand as she heads for the building. "Red alert, suspect is in with Scooby-doo."

"Crap! I knew he'd make me sorry for letting him do this!" she thought to herself starting to run. "How fast can your teams make it to the tenth the floor?" She barked into the radio.

"My teams are heading up now, we're at the third floor!" Espo called out, obviously running hard.

"The elevator seems to be stopping at each floor! Says Ryan on the radio.

"What floor is it at now?" Calls out Espo "We'll trying to head him off."

"Elevator has just stopped at the third floor! Try to get to the fifth, you might catch them before the doors open." Calls Ryan.

"Roger, floor five, we're at four now." Yells Espo into the radio.

"Espo, Castle knows you guys are coming, he'll get out of the way on time." Calls Beckett into the radio.

"Ten-four!" Calls Espo "We're on five! We can hear the doors closing on four! Team is in place!"

Beckett stands there frozen, holding her breath staring at the walkie-talkie in her hand. It seems like an eternity passes before the radio crackles to life "Scooby is safe, we got the suspect. It'll be a little while until we get back to the first floor. Someone pressed all the buttons in the elevator to slow him down."

She feels herself take a deep breath and smile wide "Roger, tell Scooby we'll give him a snack after he gets down here."

A little while later, as the elevator doors finally open in the lobby, Castle stands there with a wide grin on his face behind Esposito and the suspect. "See, I told you it'd work! Piece of cake!"

"He acted drunk and laid down on the floor to take a nap, when the doors opened and we surprised this dirt bag, Castle grabbed his ankle and tripped him. If I didn't know better, I'd swear he knew what he was doing in there." Laughs Esposito.

"Thanks a lot bro!" Castle says to Esposito and then turns and spreads his arms at Beckett "Can Scooby get his snack now?"

"Shut up Castle!" Beckett snaps, thrilled to see he's unharmed and trying to hide her relief.

"Y'know Beckett, you take the fun out of being the hero." Grinned Castle, his blue eyes twinkling at her.


	3. Chapter 3 - The ride back

In the car ride back, Castle's grinning ear-to-ear again and humming to himself.

"Oh stop it. Don't you ever get tired of gloating?" She asks.

"You'd think so but no. I enjoy it **way** too much. So, now that I've had my fun for the day, I have to figure out what your secret is."

"Really? After all that, **this** is the most important thing to you?" Admonishes Kate.

"Yea, if you're embarrassed, I **have** to get to the bottom of it." With almost uncontrollable glee in his voice.

"Great, my luck." She almost sounds resigned to her fate. "Okay, I'll tell you."

"**No you don't!** You're not going to spoil my fun by telling! I've got to make this last, I'm in this partnership for the long run!" He says without realizing the significance of the statement.

"Really?" She pauses a long time glancing at him two or three times, trying to digest what he just said, then recovers with "What did I do to deserve this?"

"So many things Detective Beckett, so many many things." He laughs.

"**Ooofh!**" Beckett grunts furiously in frustration at his response, making him grin all the more.


	4. Chapter 4 - Even Gates is pleased

Later, at the precinct, the guys are drinking coffee and telling stories in the break room when Beckett returns, walking behind Captain Gates.

"Gentlemen. You officers did a terrific job taking down this guy today. The D.A. is now in a battle with two other states for him. It seems that he's a major suspect in three more homicides and two armed robberies where people were injured. The fact that you officers were able to apprehend him without a shot or injury speaks well of how you work as a team. And Mr Castle, I'm glad to see you weren't injured either."

"Ummm.. Captain Gates sir." Starts Esposito

"We appreciate your recognition and the pat on the back for our work here." Continued Ryan

"We have to say though, the reason that this worked so well was because of Castle." Finished Esposito

Beckett in the background smiles broadly, almost like she's proud of her student.

"Really." Says Captain Gates coldly, turning to look at Castle. "And how is that?"

"We really don't like this much either Captain" Added Beckett humorously "It was his idea to go into the building and hijack the elevator so that the suspect couldn't use it."

"Which seems to have not worked." Gates said while staring holes through Castle.

"Well, that part didn't but as soon as the plan went sideways, Castle, in the elevator with the subject, played drunk and pressed all the buttons in the elevator to slow him down." Said Beckett "This gave the team time to get ahead of the elevator and catch him as soon as the doors opened."

Gates turns back to Castle "Reallllllyyyyy?"

"Yes, and when he figured we'd be coming through the doors, he got on the floor pretending to sleep off the drunk." Finished Beckett "To tell you the truth Captain, we're not sure what got into him and we're a little unnerved by it too."

"Well Mr Castle, it seems you've been useful again. Congratulations." Turning to Beckett "Well Detective Beckett, it seems like your team works very well together..." Looking at Castle "despite your **obvious** obstacles."

As Captain Gates walks away and passes Beckett, she gives her a wink and keeps on going.

"One day, maybe, just maybe, I'll convince her to not hate me." Sighs Castle

"Don't bet on it." Chimes in Esposito

"Yea, that's what they call a long shot." Ryan says in agreement.

"Don't worry Castle, you still haven't made us hate you... yet." Chuckles Beckett as she turns to leave the room, pauses, looks back and smiling says "You comin' Castle?"

He runs after her. Ryan and Esposito watch and laugh at the sight.

"You'd think he'd catch on by now." Says Ryan

"Naaaa" Esposito shakes his head "She's not ready for him to catch on yet."


	5. Chapter 5 - She Confesses (No, not that)

In the elevator heading down, Beckett stares at the numbers changing and Castle stares at her.

"What?" She barks.

"I'm just trying to decide what your secret is."

She reaches over and pulls the 'STOP' button and then walks right up to Castle's face, forcing him against the wall. She puts her finger in his face and says "I don't want to hear about this **ever again** once these elevator doors open. Do I make myself **perfectly clear**?"

Looking a little scared, he chokes out. "Yea, um.. Yes, clear."

"And I don't care if your fingers are crossed, if you break this promise I'll **will** pepper-spray you." As she says this he slowly lifts his hand into view with the fingers crossed and uncrosses them.

Stepping back a little, she turns to the front of the elevator "I told your mother that I knew who you were before the first time I'd questioned you and that I'd read some of your books." Long pause "Are you happy now?"

Smiling, Castle, looks at her "Yes, I'm happy now."

"**Good!**" And she punctuates it by smacking the 'STOP' button to resume the ride to the first floor.

"You do know that this isn't over don't you? I already knew you were a fan. Not many of my readers bothered with 'Hell hath no fury' and I know you knew it well enough to remember it when you saw that crime scene way back when."

"**Oooofh!**" She grunts in frustration, while smiling inside and thinking "Maybe it won't be so bad when he finds out."

"The many layers of the Beckett onion, I'll peel them one at a time." He smirks.

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_**Author's Postscript:**_  
To my great surprise I've had enthusiastic encouragement to continue/finish this story.  
I am not sure I can but I've now set my mind on seeing if more of the story can be dragged out of the swamp between my ears.  
Thank you for your feedback/reviews/comments and encouragement.


	6. Chapter 6 - As the doors open

_**Author's Note:**_  
Okay, I agree, I ended this story too quickly. Here's a continuation.

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"Well Detective Beckett..." Castle starts.

Beckett snaps around pointing her finger in his face "Uh huh! Don't you dare! I said not a word once those doors opened!"

Smiling, Castle shakes his head "I was just going to say that since this case was wrapped up quickly and it's still not too late, I was going to invite you to dinner at my place. Mother said she was cooking and I figured your place might still be smelling bad from this morning and you could use some food before you face it."

Taken back a bit by the considerate offer, Beckett smiles as she opens her mouth to accept...

"Of course, if you wanted to ..." he interrupted.

Beckett smiles to herself "There's the Castle I know" then quickly responds with "No! I'm not accepting your second offer! However, it'd be a pleasure to have dinner with your family." she says smiling as she turns, heading for her car "However, I have to stop by my place for a moment."

"I say this in all seriousness Beckett, if your place is still bad, grab a change of clothes and you can stay in my guest room." Castle says using his 'serious' voice.

"Thanks, I'll see how bad it is. Thank you for the offer." She says.

Just as he inhales and opens his mouth to speak she snaps around, coldly staring at him with a fierce look on her face "Don't say it! Just because I don't have my pepper-spray on me doesn't mean I still can't make you cry like a little girl."

He smiles at her and saying "Detective Beckett, I have **no** idea what you mean."


	7. Chapter 7 - Martha has her own surprises

Turning the handle and opening the door to the loft, Castle let's Beckett enter first and quickly follows announcing "Mother! I'm home, I brought a guest!"

"Oh Kaate!" Martha called from the kitchen "Oh Richard, she's not a guest!"

The look on Beckett's face belies her rigid exterior and attempts at hiding how deeply she is moved by the statement.

"Well Kate, it seems that you have been adopted." Castle says quietly.

"Mother, Kate's going to spend the night in the guest room, her place is still in need of airing out. It seems that the building maintenance people did a good job of sealing up the windows and skylight but left the smell behind."

Seeing the activity in the kitchen Kate asks "Martha, what can I do to help?" tossing her coat onto Castle like he was a coat rack.

"Kate, an experienced set of hands will be welcomed." Martha calls back "Just keep Richard away from the kitchen and we'll be fine." she adds nonchalantly.

"You know I'm right here, I can hear you!" Castle calls out.

"That's nice dear, make yourself useful, someone's got to mash those potatoes. Kate, see if you can show him what needs to be done." Martha adds pointing to the bowl on the counter.

"I'll try Martha, no guarantees of course." Kate replies, smiling, staring Castle down.

"We know dear, we know." Martha mutters turning back to her duties "Richard, when you're done there, set the table, we're almost ready to serve."

"Yes Mother." Castle says with his head down acting downtrodden but smiling wide the entire time.

"So Richard, how was your day? I hope you didn't get in the way too much." Martha asks, obviously 'pushing his buttons'.

"Mother, I had a blast today, Kate actually even told the captain I was helpful." Castle says.

Kate laughs "Yes Martha, we're all trying to figure out what got into him."

"Richard, it's so nice of you to actually be helpful to these poor folks you're hanging around with." Martha smirks.

"Gee, thanks mother. Thank you so very much." Castle says with disappointment.

"Even Esposito thought it was surprising." Kate continues.

"That's okay Kate, we understand. We get surprised by him at times too." Martha says.

"Come on Mother! How about being on my side a little?" Castle complains.

"Oh I am dear, I am." Martha chuckles.

"Great, just my luck. 'Hey, the view's great here under the bus!'" Castle says in an animated manner to no one in particular.

Kate attempting to switch the track the conversation is on to a more friendly one asks "Hey Castle, there's something I'd been meaning to ask you about. I saw a thing on a top shelf in your office, it looks like a spider made out of pipe cleaners but it only has six legs and is yellow and black. What's the story behind that? I assume Alexis made it for you when she was little."

"Alexis didn't make that! Richard did when he was little!" Martha corrects.

"Mother! There's no reason to discuss that story! Kate doesn't want to hear it." Admonishes Castle "Look, we're all here for a nice peaceful dinner, no need to bring up unpleasant stories and ruin the atmosphere."

"I'm sorry Castle, I didn't know it was so painful, that's fine, we can skip it." Kate offers while thinking "Oh goody, a juicy story for another time!"

"Kate, Richard's sort of right, that story was when I was doing a bizarre play in ..." Martha pauses, searching her memory "You know what Richard? I don't even remember where that was now." and back to Kate "Anyway, it was a small theater, in a little town in New Hampshire or Vermont, trying to do this strange play by an even stranger playwright. Let me just say this, I was playing the lead in 'The Ghost Whore' and it had very little to do with ghosts. I had a stage hand and makeup woman keeping Richard entertained with some small magic tricks and such in the front of the theater so he couldn't see the show."

"Was the show that bad?" asks Kate.

"Oh lord, it was worse than that." Martha laughs "This playwright was what some would call, a few bricks short of a full load. My big scene had me in a white bikini that had been painted with this florescent stuff that made it glow in the dark and reflect off of this black light they had. Then, I was draped in this strange translucent material that had words written all over it."

"I see why you had him stay away, that'd put just about anyone in therapy for a while." Kate laughs while putting dishes of food onto the dining room table.

"Oh Kate, you can't imagine. I wanted therapy after that. It was horrible but it helped pay the bills."

"How long did that show run?" asks Kate

"Well, let's see, I was there for three weeks of preparation and rehearsals then I think we did three shows. It crashed and burned after the first, we did the second because that that point we had nothing to lose but he insisted on one more. I seem to remember something about it being a special encore showing for his mother." Martha says laughing "This man had some serious issues and I'm not sure they didn't involve his mother as the protagonist." She says in a stage whisper that they all can hear.

Martha continues on cheerily "However, Richard learned some silly card tricks and he learned to make animals like that with the pipe-cleaners. He made me that creature as a gift, I think he called it a spiderhornet or some such silly thing. Of course I cherished it, my baby made it for me but it reinforced what I suspected about Richard."

"Why? What do you mean?" Kate asks hoping to get into the 'juicy' part.

"Mother, no need to continue, Kate gets the idea. Why don't we just sit down and ..." starts Castle trying to derail the conversation.

"Oh Richard, don't be such a baby! There's no reason Kate can't get in on the family stories." chides Martha "He can be so sensitive at times Kate, anyway..."

"Mother! I have two words for you." Castle says trying to sound authoritative.

"Oh Richard!" Martha interrupts dismissively.

"Mother, two words ... " holding up two fingers to enumerate the point "the first is 'rent' and the second is 'free'."

"Castle! Be nice to your mother." Kate scolds.

"Don't worry Kate, I know too many of his secrets for him to actually throw me out." Martha says laughing and obviously unconcerned.

"I'm glad Martha and you're right, he can be such a little boy about some things." Kate says glaring at Castle but with a smirk on her face.

"Well, as I was saying Kate, I learned that not only did he have an active imagination but that it was also wild and unrestrained by reason, logic and reality." Martha says laughing as the three of them sit down at the table. "That creature was one of a number that he made, one of them was a bird like thing that he wore on his shoulder and talked to a lot."

"Thanks Mother, thanks for sharing that embarrassing story. I think you've done enough damage to my image and character. Not to mention my psyche." Says Castle.

Martha continues "The part he doesn't want me to share is how he used to talk to it and have these long drawn out conversations and arguments with it."

***THUD*** as Castle drops his forehead to the table with a groan, then quietly with his head still on the table "Thank you mother, that's exactly what she needed to hear." then **THUD** "I" **THUD** "will" **THUD** "never" **THUD** "live" **THUD** "this" **THUD** "down."

"Oh Castle, don't let it bother you, I won't share it." Beckett says smiling at Martha.

"For that I can be thank..." Castle starts.

"Of course, Ryan and Esposito will need to know why I'm laughing all the time so of course I'll have to let them know just to maintain the team harmony." Beckett interrupts "And I can't leave Lanie out, that wouldn't be fair."

"I'm soooo screwed!" Castle says dejectedly again dropping his head to the table with another light thud "What will it cost me to get out of this?"

"I'll have to consider my options and current needs to decide this." Kate says wistfully winking at Martha "Martha, do you have any suggestions that might help?"

"Oh god, don't ask her for..." Richard groans.

"I'm not sure Kate, there's so many things to consider here. I think that you should hold this as an I.O.U. until you really need something and then cash it in." Martha says earnestly, ignoring Richard's groaning.

"Thanks Mother, I appreciate this." says Castle, then looking at Kate "See what I mean? I don't stand a chance."

"It's okay Castle, we'll let you think you win occasionally." Kate says winking at Martha.

Suddenly trying to switch the conversation to his favor Castle chimes in with "Mother, Kate was telling me about how she told you that she was a fan before we met."

"Oh Richard, that's old news, we all knew that a long time ago." Martha says with a glint in her eye.

"You did? How could you have known that?" Castle asks glancing between his mother and Kate.

"Oh Richard." She sighs. "He can be so observant and perceptive at times but he can still be as dense as a brick occasionally." Martha says to Kate across the table.

"Just what I needed, to be ganged up on by two of the three women in my life." Castle grouses as he puts another forkfull of food in his mouth.

Beckett blushes a little at the idea of her being in his life as he says but lets it pass however Martha makes a point of winking at Kate causing her to blush more.

"So Martha, how's the school doing?" Asks Kate trying to recover.

"Oh thank you for asking, we're having a grand time!" Bubbles Martha, thrilled to talk about herself and her exploits "Now that the repairs to the building have been completed after that foolish pipe burst we're getting back into a normal rhythm."

"That's wonderful! Martha, I'm very happy for you. I assume that this was the repairs you were in the bank trying to get the loan for?"

"Yes Kate, and thank you again for saving us. I can't say it enough times." Martha adds.

"Mother, she didn't sav..." Starts Castle.

"Richard, eat your dinner, the adults are talking." Martha chids with a wave of her hand and a wink at Kate.

"I can't win." He mumbles out loud but to himself "I'm just so totally screwed."

Kate can't resist and hides a wide smile behind her napkin and a drink.

"So, right after that, the nice man at the bank worked with me to get the loan and we fixed everything up. We've expanded some of our courses to have a few, shall we say, more seasoned performers come through to teach special classes and share their experiences." Continues Martha between bites.

"That's wonderful! Anyone I might have heard of?" Kate asks excitedly.

"I'm so sorry Kate, I completely forgot that you're familiar with some of the smaller plays around town! I'd love to have you come by and see how things are going. As for the who's who, you'd probably only know a few of them, most of them have been around but not many of them are names you'd remember generally. I'll have to get you a copy of the schedule of upcoming events, you can schmooze with the stars if you want."

"That would be great Martha, I'd love to! I haven't been to many plays recently but I did spend a lot of time in theatres in my youth. Escapism comes in many forms." Says Beckett.

"Next month we have two special classes coming, one's a theatre critic I'm friendly with again after many years estranged, we'll save that story for another day but she's going to come and tell stories to the students and help them see the stage from a critic's point of view to help them work on their presentations."

Almost bouncing in her seat she continues "Oh, and we have an actress named Susan Sullivan coming in. She's been around for a while but she's very good, as good as myself I think in a lot of ways. We're still trying to get some really big names in to bolster our exposure but for now, we're doing well, just enough people know about us to not overwhelm the new school and our resources." Martha explains in her usual flamboyant manner.

Just then Castle's phone rings, looking at it he sees that it's Alexis. "Excuse me for a minute." he says to the table. Answering his phone half way to his office "Hi Pumpkin! ... Sure, let me get into my office..."

Kate watches as he disappears into the office "It never ceases to amaze me how different Alexis' dad is from 'Richard Castle, public playboy'" she says to Martha.

"Don't let on but I'm surprised at times too. However, you shouldn't fool yourself, most of the public playboy was a façade crafted by his publisher and agent. He tried to live up to it at times but that character has left the building with no forwarding address. He's not just off the market my dear, he's a new man and we all have you to thank for that." Martha says leaning in towards Kate watching her blush and fidget with her napkin in her lap.

"Martha, while we have a second, I wanted to ask a favor." Kate says, now lowering her voice and casting an eye at the office.

"Of course dear, what can I do for you?"

"You know that secret we shared last time I was here?" Starts Kate.

"Say no more my dear. These two" tossing her head towards the office "think I'm some sort of sieve when it comes to secrets. Truth is, I'm really not fond of secrets, I've learned that life is too short, and I do make an effort for these two to not have them from each other but we all do and while I like seeing him squirm at times, I know that some secrets are temporary and will come out on their own in their own good time. In short Kate, he won't hear that story from me, that's for you two to work out." Martha assures, patting Kate's hand on the table.

"Oh thank you Martha. Thank you so very much. That one in particular I have to work up to. There's a number of issues that need to be salved before I dive into it. Quite frankly, I think once I let that particular secret out to him, he really is going to be truly insufferable for quite a while." Kate confides.

"Kate. I think you'll find that it isn't as explosive as you think. I also suspect that the 'New and improved Richard Castle' will handle it differently than you expect. However, I will honor your wishes and keep it under wraps for you. I do believe he **will** be more insufferable than normal though. For now, let's just go with what he's already said."

"Thank you again Martha." Kate says.

"For what?" Castle asks coming through the door from his office.

"Never you mind Richard, it's girl talk. You wouldn't understand. How's Alexis? Everything alright?" Martha says.

"She's fine, she wanted to ask me to find a quote for her from one of the old books I've got here on the shelf. Funny thing was, she had it dead on but needed to make sure of the correct spelling of his name. She had that right to but wanted to double check it."

"With all the resources of the school and the internet, she couldn't look it up easily?" Kate asks, finding the need for Alexis to call her dad for a quote to be cute and endearing.

"The problem is, getting the absolutly correct spelling of the name is very difficult if you don't have any of the early books. It's one of those names that didn't translate to English very well from the author's native language." Castle says as he retakes his seat at the table.

"What's his native language?" Kate asks.

"It's an old spoken language from West Africa with no written component, the Englishman who tried to translate it took, shall we say, an early nineteenth century's liberal view of the process. He got a lot of the language correct but still mangled parts of it. The author didn't like it but he used this first translation of his name as his nom de plume from then on and it got mangled many times after that." He explains.

"So how do you know the correct spelling?" Kate asks knowing there's a story behind it.

"I have a first edition of the translated book." Castle says very matter of factly.

"Of course you do. Why am I not surprised that Alexis can quote from it either?" Kate laughs "Martha, dispite all his other faults, you did a darned good job with this one."

"Other faults?" Castle snaps looking up and slightly hurt.

"Thank you Kate, it has been a struggle. I do like to claim one-eight of Alexis' good genes too."

"Might I remind you two, I'm right here and can hear both of you." Castle chides.

"Yes dear, eat your dinner." Martha says with a wave of her hand at him and a wink at Kate.

"By the way Richard, now that you know Kate's secret you can leave the poor girl alone about it. You've probably been haranguing her for hours since you found out." Martha says finishing her wine.

"Mother, I don't harangue people, I discuss things and if you already knew, then why the secret?" Castle offers while attending to the food on his plate.

"Richard, might I remind you that lovely Kate here didn't know I knew, she thought she was telling me a secret. I informed her, as I've informed you multiple times and your friends have informed both of you, none of this has been a secret from me or anyone else around you two."

"Oh." Is the best Castle can reply.

"Really Castle, oh great master wordsmith, one two letter word is the best you can do?" Kate asks, obviously teasing him.

The conversations continued as dinner wound down. Then suddenly, a phone rang, Castle checked his instinctivly as did Kate, that was when Martha said "Oh goodness, that's mine! This running a school endevor is more work than I'd have expected, Richard, would you mind cleaning up for me? I have to take this." She says rising from the table and answering her phone.

"There are times that I find it startling to think that she's a business woman and doing darned good at it." Castle says watching his Mother walk away from the table discussing business on the phone.

"Like you said Castle, she's a lot smarter than people give her credit for and she's learned a number of lessons the hard way." Kate offers as they get up to start cleaning the table off.

"Castle, on another note." Kate starts.

"Uh oh. What kind of trouble am I in now?" He says without even looking up.

"No, no trouble, or at least not yet." She corrects.

"Thank goodness for small favors." He mumbles to himself.

"Yeah. Look, about that secret thing." She says heasitantly, worred she's going to open a new can of worms with him.

"Beckett. Before you start." He says stopping to turn around and look at her.

"Castle? May I please?" She pleads with him. She's nervous and he's not helping.

"Yes you may after one quick statement from me." His tone turning serious and calm. "I know you have a lot of secrets, some you may wish to share with me and some you may not wish to. Either way, that's your choice. They're **your** secrets, I will not pry them out of you. There are times that I'll try to help you not hurt but other than that, I won't push. I may tease you a good bit but I won't force the issue. With that said, obviously you shared a secret with my mother. Good. You got it out, that's sufficent for me, you're feeling better about yourself. I don't care how that happens as long as it happens. To that end, you don't need to tell me **anything** that you don't feel ready to. Okay?"

Looking down, Kate gives him that shy smile that means so much to him "Thank you Castle. Thank you for helping. Thank you for caring. Thank you for understanding. Last but not least, thank you for just being there for me."

He smiles at her, his heart filling with love and adoration for her. All the emotions and thoughts of her arrive at his lips and escape in one word "Always."

* * *

**### The End ###**

* * *

**_Author's note:_**  
I'd like to apologize to those who thought I had a great begining and should have finished it. By the time I got into this chapter I'd realized I'd painted myself into a corner with almost no way out. So, using the easy way out, I avoided the problem. I hope it doesn't ruin the story for you. (I am not at all proud of how this last chapter worked out for a lot of reasons. I may, one day, return to it and see if I can fix my mistakes.)

I appreciate all the good responses I got on this and the other stories I've posed here.

I'll try to be more careful in the future. Thank you for taking the time to read my work.


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